Border beef-up sought

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Congress recommended tripling the number of personnel securing the U.S.-Canadian border in the anti-terrorism bill passed Thursday, but the reaction so far from the Bush administration has been lukewarm.

Lawmakers authorized spending $100 million for technology improvements and putting three times more Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service and U.S. Customs Service agents on the northern border.

Members from both parties, including 22 senators, have asked President Bush to use part of a $20 billion fund for the terrorist attacks to pay for the measures. However, the demands on that money are high.

"At this point, we are working with the agencies to assess their needs as they respond to the terrorist attacks," said Chris Ullman, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget. "We do have $29 million that has been released for overtime for Customs officials at the northern border."

Border guards have been putting in extra hours since the attacks to secure the 4,000-mile border. The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents Customs employees, has said the need for more personnel is clear.

At a news conference Thursday, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the panel that funds Customs, said only 24 of 128 ports on the northern border are open around the clock. Many of the rest, he said, are guarded only by traffic cones.

"It can’t talk. It can’t walk," Dorgan said, holding a cone. "It can’t distinguish between a terrorist and a tow truck."

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., estimated that more than $400 million is needed to increase personnel on the border — 3,546 Customs agents, 600 Border Patrol agents and 936 INS inspectors. That’s on top of about $200 million that could be in other spending bills for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1.

Cantwell also wants money for her measure, which authorized $50 million each to INS and Customs to improve technology and buy more equipment for the border.

She points out that the United States does $1 billion in trade with Canada daily. About $12.8 billion a year is with Washington state alone.

"Our border security and economic interests are too important for the president to say no to," Cantwell said.

Larsen, whose district reaches to Canada, said slowdowns at crossings are costing business. His office pointed out that bookings are down by 50 percent at the Inn at Semiahmoo, responsible for 97 percent of lodging tax revenue for the city of Blaine.

"These businesses are going to be out of business if we do not do something soon," Larsen said.

Top Canadian government officials have repeatedly said there is no evidence the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the United States through Canada. Canada has announced $165 million for security improvements.

Nevertheless, attention has been focused on the northern border since December 1999, when Ahmed Ressam tried to enter Washington state from Canada with explosives in his car. Ressam was convicted this year of plotting to bomb the Los Angeles airport during millennium celebrations.

Said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.: "It wasn’t computers or high-tech wizardry that caught Ahmed Ressam at the border. It was the vigilance and judgment of a well-trained Customs agent."

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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